Loss of Hope
by Tortoro15
Summary: Alternate ending to Frogs of War. What happened after Ben was exiled from Earth? What happens if Attea hadn't bought Ben's act in Max's cell? Mentions of swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Loss of Hope: Chapter 1**

_Ben 10: Omniverse_  
_Frogs of War: Part 1 & 2 _

".. At least this way, I'll know you're alive," Grandpa Max said, laying a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

Knowing his grandfather was right, Ben lowered his head in defeat until he felt a hand on shoulder, which forcibly tore him away from the large Plumber group gathered around Max. "Hey! Let go of me!"

"Ben!" Max called as they watched the Incursean guards cuff his grandson and drag him towards the large ship. The teen had struggled against their strength but without his omnitrix, it was futile to even attempt. He watched as his grandpa and Rook get taken away as well, towards a separate small warship, probably enough to hold a hundred guards.

He lowered his head, knowing that would probably be the last time he'd ever see them.

* * *

Max and Rook had been thrown into a nearby Incursean ship without any struggle. While Max had been worrying on the safety of his grandson, Rook had remained too calm and was quickly devising a plan to escape.

"I have an idea," Rook spoke, catching the old man's attention as soon as they were practically thrown inside their holding cell. "I could try and contact Ben, maybe there is a way for Ben to release us."

"Rook."

"It has a 50% chance of success so we must act quickly."

"Rook."

"Maybe he could also retrieve our weapons from where ever they are holding them."

"Rook that's enough! Don't you understand? It's over with, the Incurseans have Ben and they're going to send him away forever. I'll never see my grandson again and our entire world is about to be enslaved by alien frogs. Ben was the last hope to stop the war. It's over, we've lost."

"Magister Tennyson, I cannot believe you are giving up. Are you not the person who had demonstrated that giving up, leads to downfall? You have been in tough situations before and this is nothing compared to them! You are Maxwell Tennyson, the best Plumber in history. You cannot let this bring you down.. not even the loss of your grandson," Rook argued, standing up and facing the commander. "I am distraught by Ben being taken away as well but I am not letting it phase me. We need a plan to escape and find others willing to help us fight this war."

Max glanced up at the Revonnahgander and smiled graciously, putting a soft hand on the alien's shoulders. "You've gained alot from Ben. I suggest you put them to the test to see what you've learned."

"Magister? If you could elaborate?"

"You've watched Ben in action. You know Ben well enough to know what he'd do. You need to escape and find Gwen and Kevin. They'll help you. Round up others and fight the frog war before it's too late," Max encouraged, "Ben would be proud of you."

Rook's gaze dropped, "What about you? I cannot leave you here to fend for yourself."

"I'm too old to do anything. You need to take it from here and become a leader. Good luck Rook Blonko. I know you'll do well."

The alien nodded and looked around to notice a air duct a couple feet above them. It looked pretty weak with the bolts and the Revonnahgander glanced over at his partner's grandfather. "If you could assist me, I could be able to open that duct."

Max hoisted Rook up, who managed to rip the bolts out of their sockets. He lowered the panel softly on the ground and jumped in, managing to pull himself in and turn around. Max handed him back the metal panel and he softly reattached it.

Rook glanced down and waved goodbye, "I promise not to let you down Magister. I swear this to Ben."

"Good luck."

* * *

And later that afternoon was when Ben was due to be shipped off the planet.

Max had lined up along with other fellow Plumbers, forced to walk this humiliating walk of shame towards the large ship that would take them to their official prison. There was also another small ship, or pod thing beside it. He had been horrified to see Ben pushed inside and strapped in like an animal. During that entire procedure, Ben didn't fight once. No complaint. No joke. He had been too silent, like he had lost all his fighting spirit.

He could see the dead hope that filled Ben's eyes. Those bright green eyes were dull and tired, as if he had done an excruciating amount of exercise before he had arrived.

And Max had nearly held his breath when his grandson glanced in his direction. He had nearly cried right there just at the look of dread and desperation on his face. Ben was begging him to get him out. This went against everything he had ever known.

He could remember when Ben was only 5, dreaming to become a superhero and save many people. He ran around the house, throwing small toys around and saving little Barbie dolls Gwen had forgotten there. It was almost like he was staring at 5 year old Ben again.

Too bad he couldn't do anything to help.

Max smiled softly and mouthed the last words Ben would never forget, "It's hero time."

Ben took a second but he smiled and nodded back, staring at the large crowd gathering around downtown.

Attea, her father and Dr. Psychobos stared evilly at Ben's trapped form, and Milleous clicked the button that soon ruined Max's life. Ben was blasted into the sky, never to be seen again. He swore he could hear Ben's screams as he vanished into the blue sky and he knew it was all his fault.

The guard behind him poked him in the back with the gun and muttered 'Keep going'. Max was forced to retreat out of his thoughts and continue leading the other captured Plumbers behind him into the large ships that would lead them to their new prison.

"Good bye Ben Tennyson, and good riddance."

* * *

Gwen and Kevin had immediately been alerted when the take over of earth had occurred. Gwen had been horrified to know that her cousin had been shipped off earth, exiled off his home planet, never to return. She had become depressed until she was snapped out of it by Kevin saying they were next.

No doubt Attea, the princess of the Incurseans and her father would have not forgotten about them two. They were Ben's sidekicks during everything! If they knew of Ben, they knew of them.

And just as Kevin predicted, the Incurseans had blasted and searched the area in which Gwen had went to college and Kevin's garage. Only to find that the two were missing.

Attea had shook her head and smirked, "Predictable of those two. Go! Search everywhere! Find Kevin Levin and Gwen Tennyson!"

Kevin and Gwen had thankfully escaped back towards the source of the problem; Bellwood. Once they arrived, they were shocked to see that everything had been taken over. They had gone to Gwen's household, which had a large hole right through the middle of the building. And Ben's was no better. It had collapsed as if the support beams to the house decided to break themselves. Sandra and Carl were nowhere to be found.

Gwen couldn't handle the stress of not finding her parents and decided not to explore that area for now. They had to get ride of the stupid alien frogs first.

It had only been a week and they had soon found another accomplice to their plan: Ben's partner, Rook. He had been in Mr. Baumann's store just as they had arrived. It was not hard to tell from his clothing, that he sported the Proto-Armor and his Proto-Tool on his persona.

They immediately teamed up and along the way had located Argit as well, finding as much weapon artillery as they could get their hands on. 3 weeks later, they had gathered various weapons from Undertown, Ben's demolished house and any other illegal shipment area Argit was aware about. It was enough to mount a full attack on Milleous's ship, and hopefully break inside and seize control. Until they had lost their last couple of bags to the Incursean guards, who managed to track them to an abandoned warehouse. Their weapons were half as expected and wasn't even enough to conquer anything.

Gwen banged her fist on the table, trying to take away the stress pouring in her body. Ben was gone. Her parents were gone. Everyone was missing. Grandpa had been taken into custody by the Incurseans. Everything was hopeless.

She had thought about unleashing her Anodite side on the Incurseans, until she realized that would be a large risk she would be taking. She would lose her humanity and her sense of sanity. She would be a blank slate to the massive powers of a young Anodite. And that wasn't worth the risk.

Rook had become more isolated from the rest of the group, refusing to believe he was in the middle of a one-sided war. His favorite partner had been blasted away from earth and he had left his Magister to rot in an Incursean prison. He had escaped thankfully and had resided in Mr. Baumann's store for hiding. The Incurseans had arrived one day and searched, only to find no aliens or fugitive humans in hiding. Good thing he had went searching for Ben's and Gwen's parents and had safely evacuated them from their homes.

He couldn't think without Magister's guidance and Ben's cocky attitude. It was thing that helped him become a successful Plumber at HQ.

And now? He was nothing. He had no thoughts in his brain anymore and just glanced off into the distance, wondering how Ben was. Was he dead? Had he run out of precious oxygen in his tank and was now drifting off?

He didn't let his thoughts get gruesome, since that wouldn't be helping the team out. He just had to listen to Gwen and Kevin for now. Until things got back to normal.

Kevin wasn't the least bit happy when they accepted Argit's help, when locating him in Undertown. That stupid rodent had cheated him of so many dollars, he could be a billionaire by now! But he had put that aside for Gwen and went along with whatever this cheese-bag had to say. He was happy when they had found a jackpot of weapons in an illegal hideout, enough to finish their plans of busting into the large vessel.

But the stupid Incurseans had forced them to leave the large stash behind and return back to their hiding. Great.

When Argit had suggested they attack the ship dead on and capture Dr. Psychobos, preventing him from using the Big Way Bads anymore, it had been a genius idea until they had been trapped by Attea and large number of frog guards.

Until a large bulky Incursean had managed to save them and board a ship a couple feet away. They had been thankfully for only a moment until their backs turned and they trapped him.

"Hey, why'd you hit me!?" Bullfrag slurred before regaining his natural voice.

"Hmm, because you're a filthy Incursean?" Kevin stated obviously, jumping off the metal table.

"I am not. I helped you escape!"

"Yes. Why is that, filthy Incursean?" Rook added, glaring at the alien frog.

"Eh, isn't it obvious? I'm-"

"Shut it salamander," Kevin silenced, crossing his arms.

"I'm telling you-"

"What if he's wearing a wire?" He concluded, both him and Rook searching their suspect.

While they did that, Gwen walked up to him and glared right at him, checking for something. After a while she smiled and nodded at Blukic, "He's cool."

Which automatically brought argument from Rook and Kevin. Until Gwen ordered him to double check the ship, which Rook reluctantly did.

"And how do we know you're not?" Kevin frowned, glaring at Bullfrag. How could Gwen just lower her defenses to a Incursean? How did she know he was fine and not playing both sides, to trick them?

"You'll know. When it's safe, I'll explain everything."

* * *

"I got you grandpa," Bullfrag mumbled, lifting the old man back onto the cot and staring at him with concern.

"Ben."

"Ben?"

"Ben."

"Ben," Another voice rang out behind them. They all turned to face the Incursean princess, who was smiling ear to ear. "The emperor's gonna want a public execution for you Tennyson."

"Hang on, hang on," Kevin waved, "Bullfrag is Ben?"

"Who else would come up with a dumb name like Bullfrag?" Gwen rolled her eyes at her cousin's stupid names. Even though he had gotten more creative on the battlefield, his names for his aliens where getting a whole lot lamer.

Bullfrag walked up to the two, "Whatever. Bullfrag is awesome."

Gwen smiled, "I knew it was you as soon as you showed up."

"I know but I couldn't risk the Incurseans finding out I was back on earth. That's why I couldn't say anything until I knew we were in the clear," He explained.

"Oh you better believe it," Attea interrupted, waving her gun around, "My daddy will fry you alive for coming back. And the rest of this miserable planet!"

"Course, you're kinda mixed up about me, aren't you?" Bullfrag grinned, "It's exciting, going against what daddy says, huh?"

He had expected the princess to fall against him and agree or bashfully deny what he was thinking but instead she aimed her gun at his chest. "Don't think you can get the upperhand on me Tennyson. If it has to do with you, then I rather take my chances on destroying you!"

She shot straight towards his chest, which successfully blasted him back so that his back slammed into the wall. The small metal object covering his omnitrix symbol, flew off and showed the perfect place for her to aim again. "If any of you try anything, and I mean _anything_. I'll alert the guards and no matter what you do, you'll be trapped. How about that?"

Gwen lowered her mana covered hands and glared hatefully at the spoiled princess. Kevin pushed back the urge to absorb anything and fight one-on-one with her.

"Now if you excuse me," Attea walked past the two hybrid humans and towards Bullfrag who was trying desperately to move.

"Why can't I move?" He asked, trying desperately to move any part of his body. The blast had laid one hit and he was already paralyzed? Way to top of his day.

She glanced at her gun with satisfaction, "Oh this thing? I just ordered from the best of the best on my planet. An Incursean MultiBlaster, useful for stunning, blasting, and.. _killing_.. anything that gets in my way. You're lucky I set it on stun. Now to finish what we started."

Attea spun the dial so it was set on red mode and aimed it straight for his omnitrix, "I wonder what happens if I shoot it at your omnitrix? Will you turn back to human? Will you stay an Incursean? Or will you be some sort of freak accident in between? Let's find out."

Gwen couldn't watch this and used her mana to create a rope that would grab the weapon away from the Incursean princess. Just as she was about to grab it with it, Attea pulled down on the trigger and stared marvelously at it work on her prey.

It hit his symbol dead on and flashed green as he reverted to normal. He looked unaffected until Gwen noticed at he was holding his chest with both hands. His teeth were clenched hard and his eyes were squeezed shut.

It seemed fine until a dangerous red spot started to spread on his chest, under his hands.

"Ben!" She screamed and rushed over to her cousin, removing his hands away from his torso.

A large portion had already began to absorb the blood and was already leaking onto the floor. She glanced at her hand and shivered when she realized she had touched Ben's blood and it was now stained on her fingers. Kevin sat opposite of her, kneeling down to his best friend and pulling off his shirt.

The wound was worse than they had imagined. There was a large red already beginning to blister and had been so badly burned, it was starting to burn away the flesh on the top layer of his skin and show pure flesh sticking to his shirt. It was continuing to bleed, not showing any signs of stopping in the near future if left untreated.

"He needs a doctor!" Gwen's voice shrieked at her boyfriend.

The teen shook his head, "It's too late for that Gwen. This.. this isn't good for him. It's going to spread to the rest of his body or he'll bleed out. Plus there's no doctors available anymore. There isn't a hospital. There isn't anything to help him. He's going to.."

"Don't you dare finish that!" She sobbed and grabbed Ben's pale face. He was still responding.. barely. His eyes were half shut and they were beginning to lose that bright shade of green. He was already beginning to freeze and his breathing became ragged. "Ben, keep fighting. We'll get you help, I promise. Just hang on."

Attea smiled and walked out of the cell, turning back on the force field and leaving the trio to tend to their dying friend. There was nothing they could do anyway. He was good as dead in a couple minutes. It was good for them to get some final last words before he left.

Ben's grip on Gwen's hand tightened as he felt tears fall down his cheeks. "D-Didn't.. think.. that would.. happen."

"You're so stupid. Why'd you try and mess with her. Oh God. There's so much blood.. Does anyone have a rag to block the blood?" She asked, turning to the two men beside her.

Kevin pulled of his black shirt and handed it to her, "It's the best I got."

"It's fine. Just rip it into a long piece so we can wrap Ben," Gwen ordered as she and her grandpa lifted up the bleeding boy and placed him on the metal cot. "Don't move Ben, I'm.. I'm going to see if I have any spells that would help for medicine."

"How is saying spells going to help us heal Ben? I don't thi-"

A death glare from the corner of his eye shut him up as he went back to facing her cousin, "Num corpus."

Ben's shivering and pained body stilled as he relaxed and breathed normally. Kevin smiled and glanced to his girlfriend, "Nice. What'd you use on him?"

"A spell that numbs the body of pain or emotions. It was the only thing that would help relieve him of the pain. But we also have another problem," She mumbled, shaking her head.

"And that is?" Max spoke up, brushing the hair from his grandson.

"Infection. No doubt that gun brought viruses into his body. We're left for him to fight it by himself. No spells I have are going to help him with this," Gwen against the wall, "If only we had a first aid kit or proper medicine. We just have to hope that Ben can survive this."

Kevin put a hand on her shoulder, "Ben can do it. That kid can do anything remember?"

Gwen just smiled at her boyfriend and turned to watch her cousin with hope.

* * *

The first day had been brutal. When they had awoke that morning, they had received a small portion of food, probably enough to feed one person. They had gotten a bottle of drinking water, which Gwen had taken and said was for Ben. The rest of the food was for them, some white gooey thing that looked like mashed potatoes, a greyish meat square, and some vegetables.

But Ben had gotten worse over night. The infection had spread around the blisters, which was now a greenish puss. Gwen, using the water she had taken, had used a bit of it to clean the wound and wrap it back up. He was more clammy than ever and whined most of the time.

"Ben?" She tapped him softly on the shoulder, "You need to drink something. Get up."

The teen forced one eye open to look carefully at her. Trying his best to sit up, he nearly shrieked at the pain ripping up his spine and into his head. He laid back down and whimpered softly.

Realizing that her cousin was unable to even get up, she brought the plastic bottle to his lips and slowly tilted it. "Here, drink slowly."

Ben parted his lips to accept the warm liquid and almost choked on how good it tasted. He hadn't eaten anything 'good' for a while, refusing to eat any Incursean food cause it looked too weird and disgusting. He had survived on water and even that wasn't as good as it used to be.

But this water? It tasted like heaven.

Either he had been in so much pain that food tasted wonderful to him or this water was just purely amazing, he didn't know. He was just thankful to get something in his system for once.

"Ben, calm down. You're going to choke if you keep doing that," She scolded lightly and took away the bottle. He swallowed before curling around his body and trying to return to sleep. Gwen placed the bottle on the floor beside him and glanced at the two bored men. "What are you two up to?"

Kevin shrugged, "I dunno. We can't honestly do anything. How'd you survive in this dump Max?"

Grandpa Max smiled, "Eh, I did have a red ball to play around with.. until I popped it."

"You popped the ball? Great," He rolled his eyes and slouched.

The entrance's shield buzzed down as Rook was thrown inside harshly and the shield slowly snapping back into place. The Revonnahgander hissed in pain and rubbed his shoulder. His eyes were immediately pulled towards the trio on the floor and a curled body on the metal bed. Until he realized that there was brown hair, a black with green striped shirt and brown cargo pants on this person which only meant-

"Ben?" Rook said.

Gwen and Kevin looked at each other sadly and Max nodded at the poor alien, "Yeah, that's Ben. Attea got him."

"Attea?"

"With her stupid Incursean gun."

"I.. do not understand."

Kevin's patience snapped, "What the fuck don't you understand about the damn situation? Ben got freaking shot by a freaking killer gun and he's barely going to live because of it. We don't have anything to help him and he's just going to die there! What's so hard to understand?"

Rook's ears flattened and he dropped to the floor, allowing Kevin's words to sink in. His partner.. had been shot? He paled drastically and put his head into his knees.

"Rook? I'm sure Kevin didn't mean to yell at you.. it's just.. this has been a very stressful day. We don't have the equipment to help Ben fight off the infection on the wound. Without the proper medicine.. Ben will..," She turned away, not daring to finish the sentence.

The Revonnahgander lifted up his head and nodded sadly, "I just.. could not understand what all of you were saying. I always thought Ben was invincible. He never seemed to lose at anything and always came out of any situation unharmed. It was just hard to grasp that idea."

Gwen laughed softly, "Yeah, I know how you're feeling. Ben was the hero. Heroes don't get hurt.. until now."

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" He asked quietly.

She shrugged, "I don't know. The Incurseans are barely giving us enough food for each of us, and we've used our water ration for Ben. We used Kevin's shirt to wrap up the injury, but I'm afraid it's not going to work forever. The shirt's going to get infected eventually with all that blood."

Rook glanced at his tool and unlatched it from its hook, throwing it to the opposite side of the room, "I cannot believe my Proto-Tool is unable to do anything. I wish the Galvans had made it more versatile for this kind of situation."

"I bet Azmuth wouldn't even had predicted this. I bet that old frog thought that Ben would win this war, like he wins everything," Kevin muttered, kicking his foot against the wall.

They paused when they heard hoarse coughing coming from the bed, which didn't sound.. normal. It sounded like a strange cry of suffering, which brought goosebumps to Gwen's spine.

They all rushed to the teen who was beginning to breathe in deeply and wheeze out painfully. Until Gwen's eyes widened and she shook her cousin hard, "Ben! He's hyperventilating! Ben!"

He began to have a seizure on the bed, his limps going everywhere and nearly slapping everyone in the face. He began to groan in pain until it began full out screams and shrieks. They all grabbed one limp; Kevin and Max, one arm and Rook holding down the legs. Gwen looked around in panic until she found the water bottle by his side. She grabbed it and glanced down at her cousin, who was getting worse by the minute.

She touched his skin gently and pulled it back, "He's burning up!"

She looked down at the bottle and uncapped it, throwing the contents all over his face and chest. He gasped and sputtered, relaxing once more before his eyes went wide and he jumped off the bed. The four of them watched as her cousin did his best to run to the sink, which was limping and holding the wall to get there. He threw up into the sink as he held his stomach tightly.

Gwen was immediately at his side, rubbing his back and half hoping that he wouldn't collapse unconscious. "Ben are you okay?"

Ben glanced over at her and cried, hugging her tightly, ".. I don't.. I don't know how m-much I can l-last."

"Just hold on a bit longer, we'll get you help," She assured, patting his back softly. "You'll be good as new soon."

Ben didn't believe a word she said as she guided him back to the metal cot. He couldn't handle watching them starve while he took the most important part of the meal; the drinking water. And watching each of them take care of him as if he was the elderly. He.. He could take care of himself.. right?

He was going to die. He could already tell by the pain slowly taking him over. The nightmares of death overwhelming him. Watching at his family and friends slowly starved for him. He.. It was best for everyone if he just died.. at least they wouldn't have to worry about him.

He felt his body shiver as his vision began to get dark. Not again. He hated when this happened.. he.. had to..

Ben didn't have time to think as sleep overcame him once more, falling limp as he collapsed on the bed.

* * *

Gwen hated her life. This was honestly the lowest she could have ever been. Not only was the life she knew before gone, but everything had been stripped from her. Her freedom. Her family. Her life. And most importantly her cousin.

Her favorite cousin; the one she had bullied since 5th grade. The one that had shared the summer of alien adventures with her. The one that had protected her every step of the way. The one that felt like her brother.

It was unbearable to think that she was going to lose him. There was just no way to heal him. No way to escape. Nothing she could do to prevent her cousin from fighting his infection and living. He was going to die anyway she thought about it.

The Incurseans had won. She didn't care about fighting the war anymore. She just wished for medicine. She could rot in this cell forever if they wanted her to. She just needed a cure.

She officially hated the Incursean princess. She hated the Incurseans. She hated aliens right about now. She wished she was never a Plumber.

She wished she had taken that offer from Grandma Verdona to train her undeveloped Anodite powers.

She wished she was strong enough to protect her cousin.

She wished her cousin hadn't returned back to earth.

She wished that everything would return to normal.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. The war was over.

They had lost.

* * *

_One shot? I don't know._

_I was watching 'Frogs of War' and thought of an idea for this. As you can see, I followed the beginning until the Attea part in the middle. It seems more like her character._

_Support would be amazing! Review/Favorite/Follow!_

_~Tortoro15_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Ben 10: Omniverse_  
_Frogs of War: Part 1 & 2 _

"Here's your food, human meat," An Incursean snickered, as it passed the lunch tray underneath the cell door.

Gwen grabbed it and glared with hatred at the guard who just continued to walk off, delivering more trays. She grabbed the bottle of water and set down the food carefully on the floor. "Eat up. We won't have any grub until tonight."

Kevin stared at the tray with distaste. "Great this stuff again? I hate when they serve this."

"Do not complain. We are extremely lucky they have the thought about feeding us and not conquering the rest of earth," Rook looked away.

Whimpers from the bed got everyone's attention and Gwen sighed, "I don't know how much longer Ben's going to last. He doesn't have much time. His heartbeats getting weaker and his body is almost to the point of freezing. We won't have anything good to warm him up and without any medicine.."

"We get it Gwen. But nobody's going to help us. Ben's going to die," Kevin threw his fork down against the floor and crossed his arms, "Why couldn't they just kill him already? I don't wanna see Tennyson suffer anymore."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"What's that sound?" Max asked glancing towards its source which was aimed towards Ben. "Is that coming from him?"

Gwen slowly walked over to the sprawled boy and stared at it with confusion, realizing it was coming from the omnitrix. She tapped it lightly and jumped back when a large energy source flashed in her eyes. The bottle of water she held in her hands, hit Kevin in the face, who whined in pain.

By the time she could regain her sight, she gasped at she saw the omnitrix's creator, glancing with sorrow at his creation's wielder. "What happened to him?"

She glanced over to her friends and swallowed, "The Incurseans managed to land a hit on Ben. It.. We don't have anything to heal him. He's been surviving on water for a couple days now."

"I wish I had been alerted sooner," Azmuth mumbled and shook his head, "I had designed my omnitrix to alert me if the wielder is in deteriorating health but Benjamin had gotten hurt so often I had changed it for it to trigger if he was in life threatening danger. And unfortunately, it seems to late to assist him."

"No," Gwen whispered and crouched beside the Galvan, "It can't be too late! You're a Galvan, you should have the most advanced medicine around. You can do something right? Right?"

He glanced sadly at her, "His pulse is too weak to save. If I had arrived a couple hours ago, I might have had a chance to help, but it's far spread for that. The infection's spread all over his body; he'll lose feeling to his limbs soon and soon he'll just die from there."

"Azmuth, there must be something. Anything for my grandson," Max begged, "I can't lose him again. Not for a third time."

He glanced down and sighed, "I may have something but I do not guarentee success on it working for him. I would have to freeze his body to a state but warm enough to try and kill the virus from the inside. The only problem is that humans are very sensitive to below average temperatures and if we do it for too long, it could kill him."

"Anything. I can't live without knowing we could of done something to save him," Gwen said, tears springing from her eyes.

"Alright," He nodded and pressed a button on his wrist, which flashed green as everyone disappeared.

All that left was the remains of half eaten food on the floor and the bottle of water in the corner of the room as proof of their existence.

* * *

Once everyone had appeared on Galvan Prime, Azmuth immediately yelled for help. "I need the medics here ASAP. Prepare the cryogenic containment for Benjamin Tennyson, stat."

Ben was immediately taken away on a hovercraft as he was continuing to whimper in pain. The metals doors slid shut without another word.

Gwen glanced at the doors with concern, "We can't see him?"

"No dear girl," He shook his head, "My medics like to work alone. They'll alert you of anything once it's complete. By the way, how long were you poor folks in there for?"

"5 days," Rook interrupted.

Azmuth held his head, "It is remarkable to see that he's lived for this long. He's a very strong boy, indeed. I could tell from the food that you were given, it wasn't enough for all of your standards. Relax and go feed yourselves. We'll alert you in a couple hours."

Neither of them complained as the four were led into a large dining room and kitchen, stocked with food. Kevin immediately rushed to the doors and yanked it open, mouth agaped at how good the food looked about now. No honestly concerned on what he was eating, he pulled out a small cake and began to shove large amounts into his mouth. Rook smiled as well and did the same, only with a piece of pie. Max, deciding to go with some of his favorites, grabbed a purple looking dish, which at the sight, nearly made Gwen throw up.

She didn't dare touch food until she knew the condition of her cousin. It wasn't wise, since she hadn't eaten anything fulling for days, but she owed her cousin this. Ben was more valuable than food. Hopefully her help the last couple days was enough to help him survive.

She had fallen asleep and when she awoke, Kevin stood above her with a goofy grin. "Hey cutie."

Gwen rolled her eyes and looked around. Rook and Max were missing so that meant something right? "Where's the others?"

"Seeing Ben."

"Ben's awake?" Her eyes widened. "Why didn't you wake me earlier!"

He shrugged, "He's not technically awake. The doctors or whatever finished the procedure and he's resting. Azmuth said he wasn't sure if the machine worked or not. Ben seems to be the same but he isn't coughing anymore."

"So he's fine for now?" She asked with hope lighting in her eyes.

He nodded, "For now."

Kevin held her hand as he guided her to Ben's temporary room, which didn't look to far from a regular hospital room. When she had arrived, Rook and Max were both playing with a deck of cards beside Ben's bed. They looked up from their game and waved, promptly returning back.

Gwen's eyes soon drifted towards her cousin and she smiled. Ben looked much cleaner than he had a couple days ago. His clothes had been washed and restitched back, looking like it had never been worn before. His hair was washed and combed in place and he was no longer pale, just a normal tan. As Kevin had said, he was no longer coughing or whimpering in pain anymore and he seemed to be in a more peaceful sleep. His torso was wrapped with thick bandages and he had a couple of IVs in his wrist, pumping blood and a couple other meds.

She relaxed gratefully. At least she knew her cousin was fine now.

"How's Benjamin doing?" Azmuth appeared, smiling with satisfaction at his medics work. "I see he's doing better."

"Yeah, the doctors said to wait a couple hours and if he improves from there, then he'll be perfectly fine. He's got a strong fighting chance," Max smiled, "I can't thank you enough Azmuth."

"Do not thank me just yet. We have to wait and see if Ben does indeed wake up. If he does, then you can thank me," He corrected.

"You've never changed your spunk dude," Kevin chuckled, crossing his arms and propping himself on the wall.

The old Galvin grunted, "I will take that as a compliment, young Osmosian. You should watch how you talk to your elders."

A groan of pain interrupted everyone as they shot their heads towards Ben. The teen was managing to open his eyes as slowly rub his eye. Half lit green eyes stared at everyone before Gwen jumped in and hugged her cousin. "Ben! I can't believe you're okay! You don't know how much I'm relieved to know you're alright."

Ben stared at confusion at her and attempted to speak only to close his mouth and hide back into the covers.

Gwen cocked her head and glanced back at Azmuth, "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh dear," Azmuth mumbled and jumped beside Ben, who flinched at the weird alien coming closer to his persona. "I hadn't thought of this being an outcome."

"What the greatest genius in the universe couldn't predict this from happening?" Kevin muttered with anger.

"It was not a outcome I would have thought would come true. It was quite possible but given the circumstances, I had pushed this away for now," He mumbled, studying the clipboard on the table.

Rook frowned and walked closer to Ben, "Are you going to inform us of what went wrong or are we going to have to guess what happened to him?"

"The cryogenic experiment freezes the person or object in use, preventing the infection from spreading faster. We managed to kill off the infection fine but the cold affected his brain. It seems he has amnesia, or short brain damage that will heal in due time. We just have to wait to see what happens," Azmuth finished. "I'm sorry for any incovienence but I had warned you that the machine may not work as I had intended."

Gwen's shoulders dropped, "No, it's our fault. We forgot that you warned us of anything dangerous that could happen to Ben. But at least he's alive, even if he doesn't remember us."

"Yes, I guess it's good to look on the bright side, correct? Try and speak to Ben and see if you spark anything. Just don't rush him and do not let him leave this room unless it's for private purposes. My medics should return in a couple minutes. I again apologize for anything," He said as he vanished once again.

Kevin and Rook glanced at each other, both shrugging at the same time. Gwen stared at the boys with distaste before softly walking over to her cousin and taking a seat. She put a hand on his and squeezed it lightly, "Hey Ben. Do you remember me?"

The boy squinted his eyes for a moment before hesitantly nodding.

Taking that as a good sign to continue, she continued, "Do you remember Grandpa Max?"

Ben nodded.

Rook and Kevin walked over to Gwen's side, who pointed in their direction, "What about Rook?" A shake of his head. "Kevin?" Another shake.

Gwen frowned, "At least we know the period where he kinda remembers things. Before he met Kevin. He's probably haven't even received the omnitrix yet, since he doesn't even remember Azmuth's species."

Max sighed, "Nice detective work Gwen. You should eat. You know Ben's alright, it's the best to eat and keep your energy going."

The Anodite reluctantly nodded, "Fine, Kevin you're coming with me though. I don't wanna walk alone plus I kinda forgot where it was."

"Fine. You're glad I love you."

"Whatever Kev. Hurry up, I'm starving."

The two rushed out the door and Rook walked over to Max sadly, "I cannot believe Ben's memory has been left to a child's. He doesn't remember all the Plumber business, the Omnitrix and myself."

"Ben's been through alot the past couple of days," He laid a hand on the Revonnahgander's shoulder. "We just need to give him some time. He'll pull through."

* * *

The next couple of days were productive in Ben's restoration back to health. But as many days there was to grow, there were many days that were extremely worrisome.

The next day, Ben had immediately started to gain more memories; remembering small things about Rook and many dangerous and scary things about Kevin. He had nearly screamed at the sight of grown up Kevin and started to cry in place, angering Gwen to a point and demanding that her boyfriend leave the room for now. He had stomped out and Gwen, realizing what she had done, rushed after him and quickly apologized.

He remembered some of his aliens and some Plumber missions as a teen with the old omnitrix.

His speech had slowly returned, with a small slur on each word as if he wasn't sure he was saying what he meant.

Ben had started a strong road to recovery until a small mistake from the Galvans, nearly made Gwen blast everyone at the sight. Bits and pieces of the infection began to multiply and kill of some somatic cells inside Ben's body, which required a surgery that would do the trick and fix everything.

Azmuth had been cursed out by nearly everyone except Rook, just taking it and explaining what had went wrong. Unfortunately as they were scanning Ben for any traces, it was very difficult to scan through bones with their machinery and hadn't scanned thoroughly to find a small sample left, in front of his heart.

The surgery lasted only a hour, but it was a very stressful one for Gwen. She couldn't sleep, eat, think, with all the worry fixed on Ben's condition. And as soon as it was finished, they had been alerted and she had been the first one to slam open the door and rush to his side.

He looked much better, now looking almost like before all this craziness had happened on earth. He looked healthy and strong and his speech somehow seemed to get much better as they burst through the doors.

"G-Gwe..n?" Ben mumbled, reaching out a hand in her direction.

She rushed towards him and curled her fingers around his soft ones, smiling with tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay."

He smiled cheekily, "Do.. n-not wor-y ab-out.. me."

Gwen shook her head, "Ben, you know that won't happen."

He just smiled in response.

The surgery had been a success with a couple of surgical marks lining his chest. He was slowly but surely regaining his memories, which made everyone extremely glad that their most powerful ally would be able to help fight the war.

Once Ben had started to learn how to walk again, Max immediately brought everyone over to discuss returning to earth.

"You're kidding, right? You've seen what they did to Ben!How do you know that Attea won't do that again? She'll be furious to see that he's still alive along with the rest of us!" Gwen argued, standing up to emphasize her point.

"You know we can't leave the earth like that. Once Ben's healed up, we need to go back. No matter what," Max countered back. "What about all those innocent people were leaving on earth? We can't just leave them there."

"Max is right," Kevin interrupted, "I don't like the idea of bringing Ben especially in his condition but it's our only chance. The longer we wait, the worse it'll get. We have to act now; we've stalled long enough."

Rook nodded as well leaving Gwen at a 3-1. She huffed, "If Ben gets hurt because of you all, don't blame me. He'll die on his feet!"

"No, I'm all in," A voice agreed behind them. Ben stood there, shakily holding onto a wall and guiding himself towards the small table they sat at. Gwen nearly rushed to his side, scared at how fragile her cousin looked just then. Her spine tingled.

"Ben, no. You can't."

"I can and I will. You can't stop me Gwen."

"You'll die! I-"

"I almost did die Gwen. If I can stop the war with everyone else and free everybody, that'll be well worth it," Ben glanced towards the males, "We leave tomorrow."

"No-!"

"Way to agree Tennyson!"

"Good choice Ben-Dude."

"Nice too see you're agreeing with us finally."

Ben high-fived everyone except Max, learning a large bear hug. Gwen just continued to watch as her cousin shook on his feet, nearly looking like a puppet that dragged their feet around. She could see the small winces of pain on his face when he made a move that hurt his torso. There was no hiding it from her.

When everything calmed, she grabbed Ben's arm and roughly dragged him to the bathroom. He hissed in pain as he regained his balance and glared at her. "What was that for?"

Her eyes lit with mana, "You know exactly what I did that for!" She pointed a finger at his chest, "Don't you dare lie to me Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Why are you trying to force yourself into this? You know you aren't ready to go out again, let alone try and fight any Incursean."

Ben sighed and glanced at her narrowed green eyes. He chuckled softly and rubbed an arm, "It's that noticeable? I was hoping you wouldn't see."

"Of course I can see it! Ben, you're my cousin. I know alot of things about you, when you're upset, when you're happy, when you're confused. You can't hide anything from me, you should already know. But I think going onto the field is risky, especially for you. I can't.. I can't see you die again Ben. You almost died and I can't go through that stress thinking I could have done something," She whispered softly, "I love you Ben. You mean alot to me. To everyone. You're the planet's.. the universe's last hope. If you die.. then it's over."

He looked away, trying not to meet her gaze, "I know Gwen. Dying.. had a big effect on me. It's not just playtime anymore, I know that. Every mission's serious, no matter the villain. But I have to do this Gwen. I can't just wait, more people are going to suffer because of me. If I'm able to do anything, I have to do it now. I've gotta save earth."

Tears leaked out of her eyes but not sad ones. They were happy, slightly sad ones. She knew her cousin had a responsibility to earth and she couldn't pull him out of that zone. She just had to hope that'd he come back home in one piece. Tackling him in a hug, she gave a small peck to his cheek, "I understand. Just.. please be careful."

He smiled, "I promise."

* * *

Gwen was boarding a new ship from Azmuth, right behind her cousin. She glanced at his small limp with worry but waved it away. She was just glad they'd be going home for now, ready to fight the war.

As soon as they had alerted Azmuth of their departure, he had been reluctant on giving them a ship to return with. He was also worried on the status of Ben fighting but had given him the clear once he realized how determined Ben looked to continue fighting. Honoring his wish, he ordered the delivery of a Galvanic Ship, which was expected to arrive in a couple hours.

Ben seemed more fidgety than usual, his eyes darting from place to place. She knew how nervous he was, especially returning home to face.. Attea. At one point, he had fallen asleep, only to wake up screaming, nearly startling everyone to death. Rook offered to watch him else where as everyone stayed there, which was reluctant from Gwen.

Arriving at earth was sooner than they expected only to gasp at the sight. The familiar green and blue color scheme of earth was replaced with black instead of green and a dirty green color instead of the ocean. It looked disguisting.. as if the earth had dumped all their trash into the ocean and exploded every inch of soil. It looked beyond terrible.

"We're suppose to land on that?" Kevin muttered as he drove the ship, towards 'North America'. "Where's Bellwood?"

"There..," Max whispered as he pointed to a small spot on the mirror which was the only piece of green left.

"Did.. Did they leave Bellwood alone?" Gwen asked.

"I highly doubt it."

The ruffian shrugged and moved the ship towards the direction Max had said. As they approached, there were many other green spots but too small to see from outer space. It was mostly trees, which had been miraculously left alone.

"Why'd they leave trees alone?"

"Oxygen. We can't survive without it."

"Oh."

They headed towards the outskirts of Bellwood, which was unaffected. They landed in an open spot under a couple trees before Kevin hit the 'cloak' option. He spun his chair around to meet everyone else, "Well that was fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, this is a neat ship."

"C'mon, let's go see if Azmuth packed any food in here. I'm starved."

Gwen rolled her eyes and followed her boyfriend out of the control deck, heading towards the hallway to find anything relating to a kitchen. They passed by a room which held Rook, who was staring right at Ben's sleeping form. Gwen stopped and popped her head into the room.

"How's Ben?"

Rook looked up at her and sighed, "He has been doing worse. I do not think earth is helping to heal his stress."

"I know. He wasn't alright when we got on the ship, and he won't be alright in a couple hours. We just need to give him space. This place must be giving nightmares," Gwen scratched her arm, "Do you want anything to eat? Me and Kevin are looking around for a kitchen."

"Anything small would be great," Rook mumbled, going back into deep thought.

She nodded, gave one last glance in Ben's direction and went off to find Kevin, who trudge on ahead.

They found a pantry full of canned food and vacuum food, which was enough for Kevin grab from jerky from there and tear it open. He happily chewed on it and glanced at Gwen, offering her the bag. She shook her head and searched inside, smiling when she found a couple fresh fruit. She grabbed two bananas and ripped off the skin of one.

"I gotta go back and see Rook," She said after chewing and swallowing. "I promised I get him some food."

He shrugged and continued to eat, "Alright, I'll be in here or in the main deck with Max."

She nodded and rushed off to find Rook.

When she entered, she found Rook in the same stance as before and Ben missing.

"Huh?" She questioned and dropped the banana beside Ben's partner. "Where's Ben?"

"Bathroom," He mumbled and dug into the banana without a second thought, "He did not seem alright when he walked in at first. He has been in there for a couple minutes."

Before she could reply, Ben walked out, looking extremely pale and shaky. His green eyes glanced at hers and he looked away with shame.

"Ben? Are you okay?" Gwen asked softly, reaching to touch his shoulder.

He flinched away and nodded, "Super. Can I just go back to sleep? When do we have to be ready to fight the stupid frogs?"

Ignoring his obvious display of sarcasm, she shrugged, "We need to plan an attack. Once we've got that down, it's showtime. Rest up."

He jumped back into his bed and wrapped the blanket around his body, his face towards the wall. "Already on that."

Gwen sighed softly and glanced once more at Rook, who had gone back into his daze at the wall. She closed the door behind her and looked up when she heard hard footsteps approaching. Of course Kevin, who had a large bag of food in his hand, waved her over and chuckled, "Anything I miss?"

"No," She mumbled and walked off, with her boyfriend following behind her like a lost dog.

"What's up? What happened in there? Ben alright?" He asked, swallowing his food.

She closed her eyes, thoughts racing across her head, "I don't even know. Ben.. Ben doesn't look like he's ready to do anything-let alone fight. I don't think he can handle this."

"Your cousin? He can handle anything; he's proved it enough," Kevin reassured. "Ben'll be fine."

"Rook doesn't even look alright!" She blurted out with disagreement, "I think Ben's conditions starting to take an affect on him."

"How?"

She glared at him, "Because of the way he stares at the wall as if he doesn't know what to do? He looks like he just went through trauma. I don't know what to say or do to help him."

Kevin remained silent as they continued their walk back to the main deck. Gwen could sense his slight discomfort and she could tell how much of a mistake it was trying to force Ben onto the battlefield. If only her Grandpa Max would realize..

"Good news, kiddos!" Max grinned as they passed through the double doors. "I know how to infiltrate their lair without notice. We'll catch them by surprise, shut down their machine and capture the two commanding officers."

"Sounds easy enough."

"What?!" Gwen's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. That was our last plan and look where it took us. We wounded up in a Plumber Jail trapped for days!"

The elder man frowned, "Where else could we attack? We have to attack soon before they realize we've escaped our cells are now hiding in the forest, too close for comfort near the large ship they've had under repair for over a month. We need to do something now."

"..And that would be our cue," Attea grinned as she jumped from her hiding place, along with other frog guards that jumped through the windows or followed behind her. That left the trio completely surrounded by the Incurseans once more. "You didn't think you could come back on earth without my notice? Ha, funny."

"How? We have cloaks all over the ship, there's no way you could find us even with Galvin tech," Kevin scratched his head.

Gwen gave him a glance, "No time for that. We need to warn Rook."

"Already taken care of," The frog princess grinned as two figures were thrown into the room, one left in a headlock. Rook gasped and sputtered, grabbing a hold of his throat. Once he realized his surroundings, he looked at Ben with horror and whispered out, "Brallada."

"Now that we've taken care of everyone on the ship..," Attea glanced at Ben who was struggling with all his might. "How are you still alive Tennyson?"

Ben stopped fighting and his face fell to desperation. "Leave them alone.. please."

"After what I did to you, you think I'm afraid of you?" She smirked, "Think this as a reunion. One that you won't come out of. When I'm done with you, you'll wish you were dead."

He didn't answer as the princess pointed to the others. "Send them to the Incursean prison. Make sure they're each in a different cell this time. I don't want any chances that they'll escape again."

Gwen eyed the guards approaching them and her eyes lit with pink energy. A surge of pink energy blasted everyone back, leaving the four completely unharmed and Ben dazed in the corner. They rushed over to him and Gwen tugged on his arm. "C'mon get up. We don't have all day!"

Ben rubbed his head and followed after him, holding onto Rook for assistance. He could hear the screams of frustration from Attea behind them and he picked up the pace, afraid of seeing her once more. Faint footsteps could be heard behind him and glanced back, only to pull his head back forward. The guards and her were catching up on them and he could feel his energy slightly diminishing.

To his misfortune, he managed to trip over a tree root, leaving him to see white spots for a moment. Rook yanked him to his feet but didn't leave it at that, as he carried him bridal style after Kevin, Gwen and Max. Ben opened his mouth to protest but at the rate the Incurseans were following after, he decided to keep quiet for now.

"Where are we headed to?" Kevin panted, already absorbed as wood and knocking nearby trees down.

"I don't know, just away from here. We need to protect Ben," She gasped as she stopped. Everyone else stopped as well and she put her hands up in the air, "_Abeo_ _Exorior_."

A pink dome encased them as they blurred and disappeared from sight. Attea and her guards reached their last location and she kicked the ground. "Darn it! Guards, search everywhere for them. Bring me back Ben Tennyson. Alive."

* * *

They appeared in abandoned warehouse, far away from Bellwood. Gwen rubbed her head and groaned, "I could kill for some juice."

Kevin rubbed her back, "It's alright babe. Just ignore it for now."

A whine of pain from the other end caught their attention. They rushed to Ben's side, who clutched his stomach tightly. Rook glanced around him and shook his head, "I cannot find any injuries. What is wrong with him?"

Her eyes widened, "The stitches. Those aren't healed yet."

The green eyed boy hissed once more, "I.. I'm fine." He managed to slowly sit up and push them away, "I.. I'll be fine for a while. It just hurts if I move too much.. I'll be fine."

"No, you're in no condition for any fight," Gwen argued pushing the boy against Rook. Ben groaned in pain and she pointed right at him, "See?"

"Doesn't matter. We can't let them win.. not again. I'm going to fight. And you can't stop me," The teen mumbled as he managed to sit up, suppressing the pain coursing through his system.

She pushed the boy, her eyes flashing a menacing pink. "Don't you dare lie to me Benjamin Kirby Tennyson! I can see right through you! You may not think this is a big deal but you're the last hope for earth. If you waste it on a stupid opportunity like this, you'll kill yourself, along with the rest of earth."

The words pierced his mind like a knife through water. He knew.. deep down that Gwen was right but he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone. He needed to fight the frog war, no matter what the costs. Ignoring his injury, he got to his feet and faced her, confident and tall.

"Gwen, I know what's on the line. I know. But if I just sit on the sidelines, I won't help with anything. It's now or never and I prefer now alright? I may not come back alive, but if it helps you guys on having freedom again, then I'll take that chance or any chances. I just have to do what's right," He finished and spun around, heading towards a half open door on the other side of the building. "You can either join me or I'll fight on my own."

Everyone remained speechless as the hero walked out the door, into the open world, crawling with frog aliens and scared, desperate people that wished for their old lives back. Gwen, unable to see her cousin just walking out the door like that, sprinted after him, calling out swears and 'come back here'.

The rest of them followed after, towards the last known direction they had seen Gwen headed.

They stopped at an alleyway, where Ben stood frozen, his eyes fixed on something that horrified him. "No.. They.."

Gwen stopped behind him and matched his gaze, only to shake her head. "Some world's greatest hero, huh?"

"What is wrong with him?" Rook asked at they stopped behind her.

She once again shook her head and stuck her thumb towards the direction he continued to stare at. "Why don't you take a look yourself? It's better if I don't say anything."

They all looked in the direction she pointed at and Max chuckled out of the blue, "The kiddo's hasn't changed, has he?"

"Nope."

"How could they do this to Mr. Smoothy?" He walked carefully towards the destroyed wreck of the smoothie joint, which was crumbled to pieces like a cookie. The only way they could tell it was the designated restaurant, since there was a large sign which remained unharmed miraculously. His head lowered as he tightened his fist. "They can beat me up. They can hurt you guys. They can take over the earth. But nobody touches the smoothie."

Gwen rolled her eyes, "If we died, he wouldn't care. It's just about that smoothie place he's in love with."

Ben glanced over at them, "New plan. We're not attacking them. We'll wait for them to come to us and that's when we'll fight. We're fighting on our terms, not theirs."

Max frowned, "Are you sure that's okay kiddo? What if-"

"I'm sure. It hasn't worked those last two previous times right? This is the time where we change our mistake. They'll come to us; if Attea wants me dead that bad, she'll come."

"So what do we do now, Tennyson?" Kevin crossed his arms.

"Go back to the warehouse Gwen teleported us in. We'll wait there for them to arrive. But I think Attea needs come encouragement to find me," Ben grinned.

"Encouragement? What for?" Rook's face twisted in confusion.

The teen didn't let his smile drop once. "Just a little thing I like to call, sharkbait."

* * *

**Next chapter, whoo.**

**Encouragement on this story would be greatly ****appreciated, since I didn't anything the last chapter. What do you guys think?**

**~Tortoro15**


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